Islamic State Nears Kurdish Town as Turk Lawmakers Debate Troops

October 1, 2014 9:46 PM

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Islamic State forces are closing in on the Syrian town of Kobani, a key Kurdish stronghold near the border with Turkey, as Turkish lawmakers prepare to authorize the army to send troops to the neighboring country.

Militants driving tanks and firing mortars captured the final village on the outskirts of Kobani and were one kilometer from the town’s entrance, according to Ibrahim Ayhan, a lawmaker from the pro-Kurdish People’s Democracy Party. Airstrikes yesterday failed to slow their advance, he said by phone....